TWO young Buckley football fanatics were among a party of more than 50 children bitterly disappointed when what was supposed to be a dream soccer experience turned into a nightmare.

Instead of a week-long holiday of a lifetime taking in the Bernab&#xE9;u, home of Real Madrid, the football-crazy youngsters claim the hype in the brochure did not match the grim reality. They were looking forward to watching live matches and being treated like professional players, but say none of the promises actually materialised.

Single parent Pamela Sampson, of Queen's Drive, Buckley, forked out almost &#xA3;2,000 so her daughters, Leanne, 15, and Keri, 14, could go on the break to Madrid - organised by the FIFA-approved International Sports Academy - with other youngsters from Buckley, Penyffordd, Llay and Wrexham.

She claimed the hotel the girls stayed at was ant-infested and dirty and the swimming pool was covered in slime.

'A lot of the time they were left to their own devices, which is worrying as some of the youngsters were as young as nine,' she said.

'The apparent lack of supervision is also a major concern. We want the money we paid for this holiday back, plus compensation.

'As a single parent, I saved up hard to raise the money for this trip and members of the family also chipped in.

'There is no way in the world I would have allowed my daughters to go if I had known what a complete shambles it would turn into.

'Parents have photographs and videos of the hotel to show what it was like. This will provide useful evidence.'

Some parents flew out to Madrid because they were so worried and now many are seeking a refund and compensation.

They claim a minibus children were taken out in was unsafe and the football coaches supervising the youngsters were all male. Angry parents have been meeting to discuss their next move.

International Sports Academy commercial director, Tom Shorey, said he was gathering information on the visit and looking into what had happened.